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1- stouffville surihabune thursday april v 2006 staff photohannelore volpe walmart is scheduled to open in stouffville in september no other stores are confirmed retailers prepare for big box stores from page 1 thrive in the big box environment at a stouffville business improvement area meeting held shortly after the walmart pro posal was brought to the municipality stouf fville business people expressed some con cern about the walmart development com ing to town but no one was overly worried bia president eric button said small businesses have to be wellrun emphasize specialty retail and offer good service he added the towns commercial policy study helped to determine what would go into the big box store development no banks are allowed for example so they wont compete with those already in town the types of stores there are different from those in downtown stouffville the climate has changed now where big box stores and downtown areas dont com pete against each other anymore he noted representatives from the geranium corpora tion the developer met with members of the bia to explain what would be happening two pharmacies the ida pharmacy and houston pharmacy both on main street were proactive in amalgamating their opera tions about two months ago the proximity of the walmart will affect everyone pharma cistowner rob croxall noted carrying a line of products that isnt found in the big box retailers and increasing service to maintain a customer base are key components to suc cess the ida now carries natural and alterna tive products and offers specialized nutrition al and lifestyle counselling by pharmacist and certified clinical nutritionist farid wassef along with the traditional pharmacy big box stores have been in markham for several years said keith bray president of the markham board of trade although many businesses in small towns across canada have been apprehensive about stores such as walmart coming to their town retailers that know their niche and are serv iceoriented will thrive he said main street markham and main street unionville are thriving he said walmart will bring increased business traffic that will spill over to wellrun local businesses you cant stand in the way of change said frankie rose owner of cornercopia a gift and decor store on markhams main street but that being said i do feel for the local business that will suffer as a direct result of this devel opment how more big box will this region continue to allow the workshop fee is 25 and reservations are required call 9056424227 to contact reporter hannelore volpe email to hvoipeymgcom 21 everyday plus tax at participating mcponalsvstauraoislnciaiialai c 20ti6 mcdonalds